returning to simple living

traditional housewarming gifts, revisited

I wrote about traditional housewarming gifts a while ago when we were visiting the city cousins in their new home and I wanted to take a housewarming gift along with us. I want to do something similar for my mom, who moved into a new home recently (ok, it was two and a half months ago, but better late than never, right?). She has unpacked, decorated, made curtains, dug a fish pond and flower gardens, screened in the back porch, carpeted the basement steps.. so yeah, I’m just a little bit behind. But I think she likes me, so she’ll probably forgive that.

Just for a refresher, here is the list of traditional gifts again and their meanings:

Bread

May those in your home never go hungry.

Broom

May your house always be clean and free of evil spirits.

Candles

May you always have light through the darkest times.

Coins

May you receive luck and good fortune.

Honey

May you always enjoy the sweetness of life.

Knives

May your home always be protected from intruders.

Olive Oil

May you be blessed with health and well-being.

Plants

May your home always have life.

Rice

May the love in your home multiply. (fertility)

Salt

May there always be flavor and spice in your life.

Wine

May you always have joy and never go thirsty.

Wood

May your home have stability, harmony, and peace.

The last time I included bread, salt, honey, candles and wine in my gift basket. My mom is a teetotaler who used to run a tea room, so I thought I’d give her something a little different. I made some cheddar chive beer bread to include in the basket for the bread portion (except this time I replaced the chives with fresh dill from my pots out on the deck). Instead of traditional salt, I made up some sore muscle soak bath salts to include – she and her partner are always on the go, working hard, so I know someone will be able to use them. I included the lavender beeswax candle in a tea-cup that I made on the weekend, because she loves anything to do with tea and tea cups, and it takes care of the candle portion nicely, and finally, I made some lemon-olive oil gardener’s hand scrub – once again, because I know it’ll get used, and it covers the olive oil portion.

I found the old Ball jars with the glass tops at a yard sale recently and knew they’d be nice for gift packaging. The basket (ahem) actually belongs to my mom, so we’ll just say that I’m returning it, though I’m not sure she even knew that I had it to begin with. There’s no hard and fast rules to the whole thing, you can get a little creative and make up a nice gift basket. I hope she likes it. Shh.. don’t tell her; I’m going to give it to her this morning when she comes to put the monsters kids on the bus.

I love this idea, especially the use of homemade products. A good friend of mine just recently closed on her first home and will be moving there in July, so this is a great post to help get me started on her housewarming gift. She’ll be getting some hand scrub, cheddar and chive beer bread (along with the recipe to make it) and I may whip up that sore muscle soak.Thanks for sharing!

Awww… that’s sweet and thoughtful. The tea cup and saucer are so pretty. My sis in law just gave us a house warming basket: pancake mix, syrup, coffee, a potted African violet (from her stash), a coffee themed dish towel, and a carton of fresh eggs from her country hens–all in a nice basket. have a great day. So wonderful that your mother is so active and accomplished so much already!

Wonderful ideas…I don’t think I’ve heard of those types of housewarming gifts before…It takes a lot of creativity and work it seems which incidentally I am not but wish I was…I suppose I could buy some of those things and put into a basket…Diane

Again, fantastic gifting! Your baskets look fabulous I’d squeal if I got one of these. Then immediately run a bath, light the candle, eat some bread and wash my hands.
I’ve been trawling the op shops since your last housewarming gift post looking for appropriate baskets to use for these, but I always end up putting them down thinking it may not be the nicest idea to put food in them – even if it’s covered with material. I’m not sure!
First world problems.
I giggled all the way through this post, I love the humour you infuse into your blog.

[…] on a blog I’ve enjoyed reading for the past few months: Lightly Crunchy. She had just made this really cool basket and later I saw this jam. And it all just came together. We made a basket of wonderfullness […]